18 HINDI COTTON IN EGYPT. 



the locks range from 2 to 4, with 3 as the prevailing number. Very 

 few 4-locked bolls could be found in the Egj'ptian fields, but they are 

 somewhat more numerous on the larger and more luxuriant plants 

 grown in Arizona. 



PREVALENCE OF HINDI COTTON IN EGYPT. 



Familiarity with the vegetative characters of tlie Hindi cotton made 

 it possible to secure delinite information regarding the prevalence 

 of this type of cotton in Egj-pt and thus obtain a basis of judgment 

 regarding the value of the methods of selection that are being ap- 

 plied to the Egyptian cotton in Arizona. In attempting to judge 

 of the practicability of establishing the culture of Egj-ptian cotton 

 in the Southwest, it is obviously important to understand how far 

 the commercial reputation of the Egyptian cotton for uniformity 

 depends on the special methods of sorting and preparing the cotton 

 for market. This will enable us to appreciate the advantage that 

 may be gained by growing a more uniform fiber in the fields and 

 avoiding the necessity of the subsequent labor in sorting and blend- 

 ing the fiber into a uniform product after it comes to the ginhouse. 



Some writers have given the impression that the native cultivators 

 rogue out all the Hindi plants during the process of thinning the 

 young cotton early in the spring and thus avoid an admixture of the 

 Hindi fiber. Others have referred to the Hindi cotton as a wild 

 plant in Egypt, or even a common weed, making it seem almost 

 impossible to avoid contamination. 



Neither of these impressions seems to correspond with the facts. 

 Though many of the native cultivators will hasten to assure the 

 inquirer that they pull out all of the Hindi plants, a goodly rem- 

 nant of typical Hindi individuals is to be found in nearl}' every 

 field. On the other hand, one does not find the Hindi cotton, am' 

 more than the Egyptian cotton, outside of regularly planted cotton 

 fields. Seeds scattered near permanent watercourses or about towns 

 may sometimes grow to maturity, but it is not easy to understand 

 how the idea of wild cotton growing at large in Egypt could have 

 gained currency. Other plants that casual observers might mistake 

 for cotton, such as the okra or bamieh {Ilihiscus escuhntus), the 

 Deccan hemp {Ilibiseus eannahiniis) . or even the cocklebur (Xan- 

 thium), are all strictly dependent upon cultivation and irrigation. 

 It is difficult to believe that a plant of the habits of the cotton could 

 exist as a native oi- truly wild species in the Nile Valley. And if 

 such a species did exist naturall}- it would be dependent upon the 

 annual flood for its water, and would be a winter-groAving species. 

 The commercial culture of cotton was not developed in Egypt under 

 the historical system of basin irrigation direct from the annual flood 

 210 _ 



